track shutdowns for service. the first deadline to install service at the 20 busiest stations was met back in 2009. we'll turn right now to your forecast. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein is here with your first look. >> chill in the air. we've cleared out. it's breezy this morning. what a change from yesterday. i almost hit a deer this morning. watch out. i was going around 50 miles an hour. deer bolted right in front of me. watch out for deer. they're getting active this time of year. right now we've cleared out. just a few clouds to our west. out in the shenandoah valley and down in the 40s. all the areas in light blue, the 40s. the areas in dark blue, the 30s. that includes much of western -- parts of western maryland, highlands of west virginia. in green, those are areas in the low 50s. reagan national at 54. we're going to stay chilly this morning with winds gusting 15, 20 miles an hour.

not much of a warmup in the morning hours. by 6:00 a.m., upper 40s. which midafternoon with the sunshine, ought to make it to upper 60s. winds still a bit gusty. sunrise 7:19. sunset 6:28. i'm back with a hometown forecast in ten minutes. your first 4 traffic on this tuesday morning with danella. traveling the roadways, you know what time it is, road work. wrapping up in the area, but still some places have road work. in you're traveling the inner loop and outer loop in montgomery county, the same road work is there. it is along the left side. travel lanes are open. volume very light. so it's not any delays as you approach the road work there. traveling i-270 northbound at 80, finger board road there, road work also blocks the left lane and shoulder lane as you make your way northbound. travel lanes are open. a live look as you make your way past germantown road.

southbound as well as northbound in that area. no issues from germantown southbound nice and clear. >> thank you, danella. in decision 2012, president obama and mitt romney gearing up for one of the most crucial nights of this election cycle. the candidates will square off on new york's long island tonight in the second debate. they will answer voters' questions in a town hall style debate at hofstra university. the president looking to be more aggressive than he was in the first debate two weeks ago. political analysts say he doesn't want to be too aggressive. >> he needs to show he's tougher. yes, he needs to attack. yes, he needs to push back more. but he doesn't want to come across as a bully. for mitt romney, the number one piece of advice he's getting is to engage with these questioners. in town halls, he has a tendency, when he gets a tough question, to back away. >> president obama's lead in virginia has disappeared since the first debate, according to recent polls. it's narrowed in other

battleground states. while mitt romney will be busy preparing for the debate today, his running mate will be campaigning in virginia. the republican vice presidential nominee paul ryan met voters yesterday in two other key states in ohio and wisconsin. romney will visit virginia tomorrow. he has rallies scheduled in leesburg and chesapeake. both virginia senate candidates will be campaigning in our area. democrat tim kaine will try to appeal to women voters today. he's holding a town hall meeting with northern virginia women near dulles. tony tull is live with news about the race. the paper officially stating it endorses former virginia governor and current u.s. senate candidate tim kaine. "the post" citing they agree with kaine on deficit cutting and allowing bush era tax cuts to expire.

the paper also saying they admire kaine for his straight talk and civility. tony tull at the news desk. >> the deadline in maryland to vote is 9:00 tonight. you can register online at the state's board of elections website, elections.state.md.us. a police officer and an ohio state trooper both recovering this morning after their motorcycles collided while escorting michelle obama. the two motorcycles somehow side swiped each other yesterday afternoon as the first lady was heading to the airport for a campaign event. hearings for five men charged in the september 11th terror attacks continue in guantanamo bay today, but the judge in the case ruled the defendants can skip these preliminary sessions. lawyers for the accused argue that forcing them to attend could be psychologically damaging since the men could be forcibly removed from their cells. the actual trial is likely a year away. today the judge expects to hear arguments on security rules for

the case. secretary of state hillary clinton says she is partially responsible for the deadly attack on america's consulate in libya. clinton says the president and vice president had nothing to do with security surrounding the consulate. she says security professionals make the decisions about protecting state department employees. the obama administration has been criticized for the terrorist attack which killed the u.s. ambassador to libya and three others last month. a funeral today for former pennsylvania senator arlen specter. vice president joe biden set to attend that memorial service and burial outside of philadelphia. specter died on sunday at the age of 82 after a lengthy battle with non-hodgkins lymphoma. the moderate republic who switched to a democrat in 2009 is 82 years old. president obama has ordered flags at the white house to be flown at half staff. with the meningitis outbreak spreading, federal health officials are opened a war room to keep track of the cases. the centers for disease control and prevention in atlanta opened this emergency operations center. 215 people are sick, and 15

others have died from meningi s meningitis, including a patient in both maryland and virginia. the food and drug administration is investigating whether drugs given to patients after eye or heart surgery could be part of this outbreak. steroids for back pain distributed by a massachusetts pharmacy are already under suspicion. this morning police are trying to figure out who killed a man in prince george's county. officers found the victim yesterday at a home on 25th avenue in temple hills, not far from oxon run drive. investigators are not releasing specifics on how the victim died, only saying that he suffered trauma to the upper body. we're told he died after being taken to an area hospital. the trial continues today for two prince george's county police officers accused in the beating of a former university of maryland student. reginald baker and james harrison are charged with assaulting john mckenna. cell phone video captured the incident after umd's basketball victory over duke in 2010. mckenna tried to throw a punch

during a riot, but a friend and witness who took the stand said that is not what happened. >> he was skipping. he was singing. there was clearly nothing in his hands. even though they say he was doing this, that could be a threatening manner, but any reasonable person could tell you that's ridiculous. >> the officers each face up to 25 years in prison if they're convicted of of assault. ahead on "news 4 today," another well-known business is wading into the debate on same-sex mystery. plus solving the mystery. where wildlife officials believe this massive eye came from.

you remember this picture we showed you last week of this eyeball that washed up on the shores of florida. well, the experts now think they know what it is. this softball sized eye most likely belonged to a swordfish. experts say a fisherman probably removed it and tossed it overboard. the eye was found about 35 miles north of miami last wednesday. some people suspected that it maybe came from a giant squid or maybe a whale. the eye is now being tested for dna to confirm it is from a swordfish. >> a swordfish? the problem is most of the eye is hidden behind the rest of the head and the body. so you don't realize, when you look at an animal, how gigantic

their eyeballs are. >> are you willing to pop that out and throw it overboard? >> no. >> live look outside for you. 51 degrees outside our studios. tom kierein has your forecast. >> good morning. under a clear sky. we've dried out overnight in the wake of the showers we had yesterday. hometown forecast, hay market in prince william county by 6:00 a.m. in the upper 40s, under a clear sky. by noontime, should be around 60 degrees. we're going to have a bit of a blustery wind throughout the morning. hour by hour, throughout the region, throughout the day, we'll have a mostly clear sky. it's going to be a bit blustery and chilly through the morning hours. by noontime, generally up around 60, low 60s. maybe briefly upper 60s by midafternoon. by late afternoon, maybe just a few light breezes lingering back down to the low 60s, and then this evening, another chill moves back in. i'll have details on that. we'll look at the rest of the week and the weekend.

that's in ten minutes. a look at traffic now with danella. good morning. >> good morning, tom. still keeping an eye on road work in the area. i-95 southbound in virginia at 123. road work still blocking the left lane. should be clearing soon. also, as you make your way towards stafford at garrisonville road, you're going to see the right lane blocked by road work in this area. over to 395, we'll check live now, nice and clear. this is a live look as you make your way towards seminary road. from the beltway all the way to the 14th street bridge, you're clear as you head into the district. back in ten. aaron and eun, back over to you. >> thank you, danella. it is 4:42. still to come, fire lighting up the night sky. the dramatic video as an explosion tears through a crowded apartment building. plus we lucked out last winter. is the district ready for heavy

good morning. i'm tony tull at the news 4 live desk with breaking news. cuba just announced starting january 13th, cuban residents will no longer need to apply for an exit visa. ne need only show their passport and visa. and also extend the amount of time cubans are allowed to stay abroad. it has been extended for 24 months. as it stands now, cubans lose rights after they have been gone from the country for 11 months. investigators trying to determine what caused a deadly gas explosion in eastern china. surveillance video shows the explosion that left one person dead, at least ten injured, and three others missing early monday morning. authorities say liquidified gas escaped from the building. police say the students set fire to a truck, a bus, and other vehicles monday morning.

riot police raided three colleges in mexico the students occupied, protesting changes in curriculum requiring mexican students to study english and computer science. at least 60 officers and students were hurt. officials and student leaders are in talks to find a peaceful solution. 14 before the hour right now. the white house wants a lawsuit which would force attorney general eric holder to turn over documents about a failed gun trafficking program thrown out. the republican controlled house of representatives filed that lawsuit. it wants holder to hand over records about the controversial program, operation fast and furious. the justice department claims the lawsuit should be dismissed because the courts can't resolve political disputes between the executive branch and the house committee seeking those records. today the chief diversity officer for galludet university will discuss the recent controversy on her stance about same-sex marriage. the university recently placed

her on leave after she signed a petition to put maryland's same-sex marriage law on the ballot. an attorney for mccaskill says she's not anti-gay. she just wants voters to decide on the issue. washington state is also getting to vote on whether to uphold the law allowing same-sex marriage in that state. and supporters got a big boost from high end retailer nordstrom. the ceo of the seattle-based luxury chain recently sent an e-mail to all 56,000 employees about their stance on the issue without explicitly mentioning same-sex marriage. the letter says that gay and lesbian employees should have the same rights and protections under the law as heterosexual employees. >> even though i may have my own personal prejudices in different directions, from a corporate standpoint, i think it's a good idea. >> i've always liked nordstrom. i don't know that i would consider it a reason to shop here, but it makes me feel good

about shopping here. >> nordstrom joins other west coast based companies, including amazon, nike, and starbucks in support of same-sex marriage. a warning for pet owners. a nationwide recall on dog treats because of salmonella contamination. nature's recipe is recalling oven baked biscuits with real chicken. they were sold nationwide. the company says, if you have these treats, throw them away and contact nature's recipe. we have more information on our website. head to nbcwashington.com. police arrested a high school students accused of stabbing a classmate at montgomery county school. the stabbing happened yesterday morning at the cafeteria at northwood high school in silver spring. he's accused of stabbing a 15-year-old student in the leg. the victim was taken to the hospital and is expected to be okay. the two had reportedly been in an argument last week. tarawale is charged with second

degree assault and possessing a weapon school property. police need your help tracking down the man who robbed a shell gas station with a shotgun in prince george's county. take a look at the surveillance pictures of the robber released by police. the man walked into the store on annapolis road in bowie, pointed a shotgun at the clerk, and demanded money. no one was hurt. if you recognize this man, call prince george's police. a woman pulled from her burning home in prince george's county over the weekend has died. 40-year-old deirdre young was found inside her home. she was suffering from burns and inhaling smoke and later died at the hospital. investigators say the fire was electrical in nature and has been ruled an accident. 4:49 now. virginia governor bob mcdonnell encouraging residents of the commonwealth to take part in an earthquake drill this week. mcdonnell said a lot of people didn't know what to do when last week's 5.8 magnitude quake hit

in louisa county. this year they're participating in the great east shakeout. at 10:30, people should drop to the floor, cover their heads, and hold on to whatever they can. for many of us, the snowmageddon of 2010 is a distant memory, but they're already getting started on a winter attack plan for this year. officials say there's a new arsenal of trucks that remember which streets have already been plowed. how about that? the trucks have a mixture of rubber intended to remove more snow while making less noise. they say it depends how much snow we actually get. >> to about 18 to 20 inches of snow, i feel very comfortable about what we can do. it's when you get above that when it becomes a little shaky. >> above 18 to 20? i don't know in my heart can handle it, tom. >> that's a little shaky for everybody. >> on average, the d.c. region gets 14.5 inches of snow each year. last year we hardly got any

snow. i think we're in for a bit of a snowfall. >> tom has said this to us already. be prepared for a more wintry winter this year. >> eun has said -- i know you're out there with it. there is a chance we're going to have a snowier winter. it doesn't take much. even if we have an average winter, that's about 15, 16 inches of snow for d.c. for a whole winter. sometimes we get it all at once. no snow this morning, no travel problems. there's a live view from our nbc 4 hd city camera. there's the washington monument under a clear sky this morning. autumn constellations, beautiful. above orion is jupiter. venus over there. gorgeous sky under way. but there's a chill in the air. only 54 at reagan national. wind occasionally gusts to 20, and that's going to get a little more blustery as we head through

the morning hours. still have lingering clouds to our west. a few of these clouds with blustery winds. into the afternoon, we'll have lots of sunshine. right now around the region, it's dipped down in the upper 40s. much of the shenandoah valley and around the blue ridge and into the mountains of west virginia and western maryland. a few isolated spots down in the upper 30s. closer to washington, it's dipped in the upper 40s in montgomery county. arlington, fairfax, low 50s, as is prince george's county. charles county only near 50 degrees. it's low 50s right on the lower waters of the bay. chilly, breezy, upper 40s, low 50s. holding steady at two to three hours. sunrise at 7:19. then for your lunch hour, mostly sunny, cool, and still a bit breezy. we'll be in the upper 50s and low 60s. then during the afternoon hours, we ought to peak right around upper 60s by midafternoon, mild, still a bit breezy. the winds will settle down late

afternoon. by then we'll be back down in the low 60s. by tomorrow morning, another chilly start. we'll be into the mid-40s starting tomorrow morning, and during the afternoon a lighter wind, near 70, and partly cloudy. delightful day tomorrow. increasing clouds on thursday. it appears we may get showers thursday afternoon into thursday evening, but ending probably around dawn on friday. by friday afternoon, we'll be high -- seeing highs in the mid-60s. so a delightful day. over the weekend, looking very nice for your outdoor weekend plans. looking great. chilly in the morning. 40s afternoon highs. 60s on saturday. sunday and monday, may be up around 70. i'll be back in ten minutes. here now with your first 4 traffic is danella. good morning. >> good morning, tom. see you in ten minutes. right now i'm still talking road work in the area. let's head up i-95 in maryland. this time as you make your way southbound between 216 and the icc, road work is on the right side. reportedly still blocking two of your right lanes. again, it's that time of morning

where most of the cones should start to be picked up soon. over to 50, from annapolis, heading inbound towards 301, nice and clear in both directions. a live look. very, very light volume. as you continue from 301 and head inbound toward new york avenue. travel lanes are open. not seeing any road work or any accidents or any delays right now. i'm back in ten. we'll check rails then. eun, over to you. >> danella, thank you. 4:54. we're getting the new designs for the final stretch of the anacostia river walk trail. the final leg is known as the kenilworth garden segment in washington. it will connect 60 miles of trails in maryland and d.c. it will bring together benning road in d.c. with the bladensburg waterfront. the $15 million project is funded from a federal grant, d.c. and maryland. construction is set to begin next spring. let's hope the regular season goes a little better than the preseason for the washington wizards. they're 1-3 afters loing to t l

nets. last night was the first nba game played at the barclay center in brooklyn. the wizards won in style 98-88. they open the regular season two weeks from tonight in cleveland. two nba stars are joining forces to host the golden globe awards. "30 rock's" tina fey and "park and recreation's" amy poehler will be taking the stage together. they co-starred on "saturday night live" and also in the movie "baby momma." two very funny women. >> have to make sure it's not too inside baseball. they're friends. they know each other. they want everyone else to get the jokes too. >> i'm sure they will. taking things too far. coming up at 5:15, the chaotic scene at a youth football game after a controversial equal cal the field. f

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if you're looking for a little extra cash this holiday season, the country's biggest online retailer is hiring. amazon says it's going to hire 50,000 temporary workers in the coming months. these workers will work at order fulfillment centers across the country, and the company says it expects to bring thousands of those people on full-time after the holidays. well, halloween is just

around the corner now, and to celebrate right now, a lot of people are flocking to haunted houses for a good scare. >> if you're into that kind of thing, this morning we're getting a good laugh at one haunted house in niagara falls, canada. these are photos from the nightmares fears factory. forget the scary and ghoulish things they have in there, the real draw comes from photos of the frightened patrons. these are some of the top ten reaction photos on the fear factory's website this week. >> put her in front of you to guard you. >> i hope there's a disclaimer saying that your reactions are going to be photographed and spread to everybody in the world. >> that is excellent. >> that's terrible. >> that is the best part of going through a haunted house. >> i have no desire, zero desire to go to haunted houses. i don't understand what's fun about being scared? >> just the adrenaline. i don't know. if you check out our other channel, nbc washington